You can’t take it with you

What’s something most people don’t understand?

Life is astonishingly short, yet we (I specifically mean those in power) behave as if it will last forever. We stress over status, chase wealth and compete for power as though any of it can be packed into a suitcase at the end. I hate to tell you all, but it can’t. None of it comes with us, there’s no pockets in shrouds (a little Northern Irish saying).

So what is it all for?

We talk about legacy, about leaving something behind but the harsh truth is, you won’t be here to see it. You won’t hear the praise, feel the impact, or witness how long your name lasts.

I think many people do not fully understand that the point isn’t to accumulate, but to experience. It’s about having the ability to laugh more, hold people tighter, take that trip and forgive sooner. Life is not a scoreboard, it’s a fleeting moment that has to be enjoyed and appreciated in real time.

20 thoughts on “You can’t take it with you

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  1. Excellent take on this, Wayne. I think you sum it up quite succinctly.

    Your words remind me of a scene from the original program, Cosmos, hosted by Carl Sagan. In it, he shows a photo taken by one of the Voyager probes that had its camera turned back to take a shot of the Earth from millions of miles away. All there we can see is a pale blue dot, no more than a pixel. Sagan’s quote on that is fantastic and worth the read if you have a few moments. https://www.planetary.org/worlds/pale-blue-dot

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    1. I was thinking of Trump too. Like what is it all for? We will all be gone in the next 50 years etc. Global warming is pretty scary too yet all these people in power are fighting and making it even worse for Earth 🤯

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      1. I ask the same question. What I do know is that when people fight, step on, threaten, lie, exaggerate, steal, cheat or even kill others to attain power and keep it (ie Trump and so, so many countless others), you without a doubt know that you don’t have a leader. The bigger question is why so many of us don’t see those qualities (how in the world did Trump get elected a second time???) and continue to put these thugs and terrorists in power in the first place. Ugh.

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